The Singapore Management University (Abbreviation: SMU; Chinese: 新加坡管理大学; Malay: Universiti Pengurusan Singapura; Tamil: சிங்கப்பூர் நிர்வாக பல்கலைக்கழகம்) was officially incorporated on 12 January 2000, and was Singapore's first autonomous government-funded university. The Singapore Management University (SMU) is also the first and only National Business University of Singapore specially dedicated to Business and Management.

SMU firmly believes in the importance of values such as Commitment, Integrity, Responsibility, Collegiality, Leadership, and Excellence.[5] SMU distinguishes itself from other universities in the region by giving students a holistic undergraduate education that comprises an out-of-classroom values-based programme which aims to define, prepare, and inspire SMU students to be their best for others and themselves. Combined with the university's highly interactive and engaging pedagogy, students are required to complete a minimum of 10 weeks' internship and 80 hours' community service either locally or overseas before graduating.

SMU is one of the youngest universities to receive accreditation from the oldest global accrediting body, AACSB International. SMU is accredited for both its business and accounting undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.[6] SMU's Lee Kong Chian School of Business is one of the youngest in the world to be EQUIS—accredited for five years. Awarded by the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD), the accreditation covers all programmes offered by the LKCSB from the undergraduate degree up to the PhD level.[7]

The idea of setting up a third university in Singapore was first mooted by the Singapore government in 1997.

Ho Kwon Ping, a Singaporean business entrepreneur, was appointed to chair the SMU task force which determined that the new institution would follow the American university system featuring a more flexible broad-based education. Following a review of undergraduate business schools to serve as a model for SMU, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania emerged as the best candidate. The Wharton-SMU agreement was signed in February 1999 followed in June by the Wharton-SMU Research Center collaboration.

In 2000, SMU made its first home at the former Raffles College on Evans Road at the edge of the Hwa Chong Institution Campus. The campus, first opened in 1929, had already been home to several institutions, before SMU. In 2001, SMU upgraded and occupied the main campus facilities, balancing the need to refit and refurbish it with facilities while preserving the heritage of colonial architecture. From 2001–2004, Professor Ronald Frank served as SMU's second president and was succeeded by president Professor Howard Hunter.[4]

After five years at Bukit Timah, during which time the University saw the formation of four schools, the library and three centres of excellence as well as the Commencement of the first SMU graduates, SMU moved to its new and permanent city campus in the Bugis-Bras Basah District.

Since then, SMU has expanded, with the establishment of the SMU School of Law in 2007 and the restructuring of the School of Economics and Social Sciences into two Schools, the School of Economics and the School of Social Sciences.[8]

In 2013, the School of Law joined the prestigious THEMIS law network that comprises Bocconi University (Milan, Italy), ESADE (Barcelona, Spain), Free University of Berlin (Berlin, Germany), Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne (Paris, France), Maastricht University Law School (Maastricht, The Netherlands). SMU is the only Asian university in the network.[11]

Following a strategic review by the university management, senior faculty and the board of directors, Professor De Meyer announced the strategic goals of a five-year plan in his State of the University Address 2011.[12] These goals are to:

Raise the reputation and international profile of SMU.

Continue to deliver a holistic undergraduate education experience with a distinctive interactive pedagogy, involving multi-disciplinary perspectives and a culture of rigorous learning and innovation.

Foster a stimulating and dynamic research culture combining focused disciplinary research with opportunities for multi-disciplinary perspectives.

Become an Asian knowledge hub for research centred around the world of business and management.

Develop high quality graduate, professional and executive education programmes.

The Singapore Management University follows a course credit system similar to that used in most American universities. Each individual course within the University is assigned a certain credit weightage and students are usually required to take a specified number of units to fulfill requirements for graduation. Courses are typically conducted as small group seminars of under 50 students so as to allow for a high degree of interactive discourse between students and lecturers.

Admission to the undergraduate programmes is on a competitive and selective basis. Shortlisted applicants will be assessed by SMU professors and evaluated on their academic credentials and co-curricular activity records. Some schools like Law and Business require written tests in addition to interviews.

SMU admits students from a list of pre-university or high school qualifications that includes Singapore Cambridge A-Level, Polytechnic and International Baccalaureate diploma once a year.[13] Application begins in October and closes on 1 April.[14] Many students among the present intake are national sportsmen, musicians, young entrepreneurs and community-service volunteers. SMU also required SAT, and English Language Competency. The minimum score for English Language Competencies are: 550 for Paper Based TOEFL, 213 for Computer Based TOEFL, 79-80 for Internet-based TOEFL, and 6.5 overall band for IELTS.[15]

For entry to graduate or master programmes, SMU required GMAT and TOEFL or IELTS for most of the study major. Some majors also required submission of essays, recommendation letter, and a minimum of 2 years' work experience.[16]

The postgraduate programmes in SMU are managed by the Office of Postgraduate Professional Programmes and Postgraduate Research Programmes Office.[17]

SMU offers 41 second majors to undergraduates. Upon successful completion of the degree programme, they will receive one degree certificate and a second major will be indicated in the result transcript.[18]

Undergraduates who are offered a double degree programme have 15 combinations to choose from. They can combine any of two disciplines: Accountancy, Business Management, Economics, Law, Information Systems Management or Social Sciences. Graduates will receive two degree certificates upon successful completion of the double degree programme.[19]

SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business was rated as a 4 Palms business school and ranked first in the Far East Asia Zone among 200 business schools ‘with significant international influence’ in the ‘Best 1,000 Business Schools in 154 countries’ ranking compiled by Eduniversal for 2014 [20]

SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business' Master of Science in Wealth Management was ranked 2nd worldwide for The Financial Times Masters in Finance Post-experience 2013[21][22]

SMU was ranked 51–100 for Accounting & Finance, 101–150 for Information Systems, Economics, Statistics and Law in the 2013 QS University Subject Rankings[23][24]

SMU was ranked 52nd worldwide and 3rd in Asia-Pacific for The UTD (University of Texas at Dallas) Top 100 Worldwide Business School Rankings Based on Research Contributions (All Journals) in 2013 for research contributions between 2009 and 2013[25]

SMU (as an entire university) was ranked by Webometrics Ranking Web of World Business Schools (Jan 2012) as 8th out of all business schools in the world and 1st in Singapore

SMU was ranked 65th worldwide and 2nd in Asia in the 2012 Tilburg University Top 100 Worldwide Economics Schools Research Ranking based on research contributions in leading international journals in the preceding five-year period[26]

SMU was ranked 57th worldwide and 1st in Asia-Pacific for The Tilburg University Top 100 Worldwide Economics Schools Research Ranking based on research contribution 2009–2012[27]

SMU was ranked 74th worldwide and 4th in Asia-Pacific for The Tilburg University Top 100 Worldwide Economics Schools Research Ranking based on research contribution 2008–2012[28]

SMU was ranked 45th in the Arizona State University (ASU) Finance Research ranking for publications between 2011 and 2012[29]

The School of Accountancy[37] was launched in 2001 with the Bachelor of Accountancy (BAcc) undergraduate degree as its sole offering. Since that time, the SoA has received strong endorsement from the industry and the accounting profession in general.[38] The School followed then up on this initial success in 2005, launching the Master of Professional Accounting (MPA) programme for professionals intending to join the accounting profession but did not possess an undergraduate accounting qualification.[39]

The Lee Kong Chian School of Business (LKCSB)[42] is the largest School within the University. The LKCSB holds the status of being SMU's founding School with it having opened its doors to its pioneer batch of Bachelor of Business Management (BBM) students in August 2000.[43] The School was named after Lee Kong Chian in appreciation for the sizeable donation provided by The Lee Foundation to establish the School.

Besides these, research programmes such as the Master of Science in Finance and Master of Science in Operations Management are offered.[44] The school has also started to offer a Business PhD programme in Organisational Behaviour and Human Resources (OBHR),[45] Finance,[46] General Management,[47] and Marketing.[48]

Lee Kong Chian School of Business' Master of Science in Wealth Management recently was named second in the world by Financial Times among comparable masters in finance courses of study internationally.[49]

The School of Economics (SoE)[50] was established in July 2002 as part of the then School of Economics and Social Sciences (SESS). Following a restructuring exercise, the University's economics faculty was separated from the social sciences to form a school of its own. This restructuring was largely accepted as a sound decision in view of the fact that SoE's curriculum had been modelled on that of the Wharton School instead of following the traditional social science-type economics curriculum found at most other institutions.[51]

Today, the SoE offers the Bachelor of Science (Economics) as well as Master of Science programmes in Economics and Applied Economics. In 2007, the School also introduced a PhD in Economics programme.[52]

The School of Information Systems (SIS)[53] was formed with the aid of Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) when SMU and CMU forged a four-year strategic partnership intended to use the expertise of the CMU faculty in the School's initial establishment. Through this partnership, CMU aided SIS in establishing and developing the BSc Information Systems Management undergraduate programme, including faculty recruitment, development and mentoring; curriculum and course design; and the establishment of the flagship SMU CMU Fast-Track programme, which enables SIS students to graduate within four-and-a-half years with both a bachelor's degree from SMU and a master's degree from CMU. In 2007, both universities agreed upon an additional four-year extension with CMU now providing support in the establishment and growth of SIS's post-graduate education offerings. Under this agreement, the two universities also increased their focus on collaborative research efforts leading to joint faculty research outputs, funded projects and graduate student interaction.[54]

SIS offers the Master of Science in Information Systems, Master of IT in Business (MITB),[55] as well as the PhD in Information Systems programmes, in addition to its BSc undergraduate offering.[56] For the MITB Programmes, there are two tracks: Financial Services (MITB FS) and Business Analytics (MITB AT). The Financial Services track was launched in 2007 and the Business Analytics Track in 2011.

The School of Law (SoL)[57] stands out as the University's smallest school with a highly selective total annual intake of around 125 students.[58] Establishment of the School of Law was announced in August 2007 following the encouragement of the Singapore Government, which had, during a major review, discovered a shortage of qualified legal personnel in Singapore.[59] Previously, the School existed as the Department of Law at the university's Business School, and it was chaired by Professor Andrew Phang (now a Judge of Appeal). The School offers the Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) undergraduate programme with a further offer of an American-style Juris Doctor (JD) programme. The offer of a JD programme, unique in Singapore which has until recently adhered to the British-influenced system of legal education, was made to enable mid-career or fresh graduates in other disciplines to pursue a degree in law, allowing them to become practising lawyers.[60] The school also offers a Master of Laws (LLM) programme with specialist tracks in Commercial Law, Dispute Resolution and Islamic Law & Finance; and a Doctor of Jurisprudence programme. The School of Law at SMU is part of the THEMIS law network comprises Università Bocconi (Milan, Italy), ESADE (Barcelona, Spain), Freie Universität (Berlin, Germany), Université Paris Est Créteil Val de Marne (Paris, France), Maastricht Law School (Maastricht, The Netherlands). SMU is the only Asian university in the network.[11] The current dean is Professor Yeo Tiong Min, who was made Singapore's first Honorary Senior Counsel in 2012.

The School of Social Sciences (SoSS)[61] was established in July 2002 as part of the then, School of Economics and Social Sciences (SESS). Through a restructuring exercise in 2007, the School of Economics and School of Social Sciences were separated to form independent Schools within the University. The School's primary offering is the Bachelor of Social Science, a broad-based multidisciplinary social sciences undergraduate programme. Within this programme, three main majors are offered, namely Political Science, Psychology and Sociology.[8] In addition, the school offers a PhD in Psychology.[62]

In addition to its traditional academic programmes, the University also runs executive education and development[63] programmes for leaders at four stages of their career: emerging leaders,general managers,senior executives and orporate directors. These courses include Executive Skills for Board Members in Challenging Times; SNEF-SMU CEO Seminars: The Art & Science of Productivity Leadership; and Johnson & Johnson-SMU Hospital Management.

The Centre for Professional Studies (CPS)[64] was established in 2012 to advance the competence and career aspirations of working professionals in targeted industries and disciplines. CPS provides structured certification programmes which aim to enhance the industries’ manpower capabilities. Programmes offered by CPS include SMU-SingHealth Graduate Diploma in Healthcare Management and Leadership, SMU-BCA-WDA Productivity and Leadership Development, Analytical Professional (Modelling) and HR Graduate Certification.

Aerial panorama of the university (from left to right): School of Economics, School of Social Sciences, School of Information Systems, Li Ka Shing Library, School of Accountancy, and School of Business. The law school, which is slated to have its own building in 2017, currently shares premises with the School of Accountancy.

SMU Libraries[95] consists of the Li Ka-Shing Library and the Kwa Geok Choo Law Library.

The Li Ka-Shing Library was named after Li Ka-shing in appreciation for his support and Li Ka Shing Foundation’s donation to SMU. Situated at the heart of SMU's city campus, the Li Ka-Shing library is the centre for academic resources and services that support the research and learning needs of the SMU community. The library has been a leader in integrating western library practices into an Asian library setting.

The Kwa Geok Choo Law Library is dedicated to the memory of Madam Kwa Geok Choo. Establishing the Kwa Geok Choo Law Library was first proposed in 2009.

InK,[96] INstitutional Knowledge at SMU is the institutional repository and archives of the Singapore Management University. As the institutional repository, InK acquires, organises and provides access to the research and scholarly works of SMU faculty. Collections in InK include journal articles, working papers, conference proceedings, books, book chapters, reports and other research works including the dissertations and theses of postgraduate students and a collection of print and video teaching cases.

In March 2010, SMU initiated an oral history project to gather records that encapsulate the thinking behind the establishment of Singapore's third university. “Conceptualising SMU: The People and Ideas behind the SMU Story”[97] is a collection of personal recollections in audio and video form from individuals who have been instrumental in the setting up of the university including the then Deputy Prime Minister and current President of Singapore and Patron of SMU, Tony Tan, the presidents and founding deans of each of the six schools as well as pioneer faculty and students. The Oral History collection was launched in January 2012.

The SMU campus is located in the central part of the island at a $426 million, 4.5 hectare city campus. Located in the civic district of the city, the city campus will support the University's undergraduates, along with students in its graduate programmes.

The six buildings are connected by an underground walkway known as the Concourse, which is open to the public and lined with shops. The campus was designed by two teams of architects, with Cox Architects and Planners and DEG Architects in charge of the Administrative Building, and Edward Cullinan Architects and KNTA Architects designing the rest.[98]

Teaching facilities include seminar rooms, class rooms, computer labs and group study rooms used by students for project discussions. There are research facilities scattered throughout the University. Sports facilities are limited on campus because of space constraints; however, the university has a swimming pool, gymnasium, and a multi-purpose sports hall which is equipped with a rock wall.[99] The University has campus-wide wireless LAN networks.

On 20 January 2014, the School of Law held the ground-breaking ceremony for its own building, which is to be built at the open space between Armenian Street and Canning Rise. The building is expected to be completed by 2017. A key feature integrated into the new building is the Kwa Geok Choo Law Libray, named in memory of the late Madam Kwa Geok Choo, wife of former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. The 2,600 square metres Law Library will take on a distinct architectural form that is reminiscent of a pearl. It will seat more than 500 people, and will be fully equipped with modern technology and wired for legal research in the 21st century. Also housed within the Law Building will be the David Marshall Moot Court, the SMU Pro Bono Centre and other research centres.[100]

The SMU Hostel, known as SMU Residences @ Prinsep, is located on Prinsep Street. The hostel was created by refurbisishing three Housing Development Board blocks donated by the government. The hostel welcomed its first residents in December 2006 and was officially opened in February 2007. The hostel buildings can accommodate about 250 residents. Priority is given to international students, most of whom live in various private hostels around the island.

In addition, the university leases rooms from a student hostel at Commonwealth Drive and these are open to 212 full-time SMU students (2nd year and above), exchange students and full-time postgraduate students who plan to study full-time at SMU for the forthcoming academic year. The hostel is located near Holland Village which is known for its cosmpolitan array of restaurants and cafes. [101]

In the Graduate Employment Survey 2013, SMU graduates achieved the highest employment rate of 92.3%.[102] More than 86% were offered jobs from before graduation to within the first two months of completing their final examinations. The average gross monthly salary of SMU graduates in full-time employment was $3,455, a record since SMU graduated its pioneer cohort in 2004. This was a 1.8% increase over the previous year’s average gross monthly salary of $3,395. The top 20% of wage earners commanded a mean gross monthly salary of $5,281.

Students can take part in the school clubs and events, as well as organise school events.

The academic year commences in late August. Each term is 15 weeks long, including a week-long mid-term break and another week of revision and exams. Term 1 generally runs from late August to early December, while Term 2 begins in January and ends in mid-April. In most courses, students are assessed on the level of their class participation, a group project, a mid-term test, and possibly, an exam at the end of the term. Students are generally required to give a presentation on a project topic for every course they read. Attending a half-unit course, called Finishing Touch, which advises students on career skills is also mandatory.[103]

It is part of each student's curriculum to spend at least 10 weeks on internship at an approved organisation, and 80 hours on community service. These occupy the summer holidays of most students. Students are also encouraged to go an international exchange term with partner universities to experience different cultures. SMU has around 220 agreements with partner universities from 48 countries.[104]

The Association was formed in 2000 by students, with the aim of building a community of students. Every matriculated SMU undergraduate is a member of the SMUSA. The SMUSA serves as an umbrella organisation that consists of the SMU Students' Association Council, an Executive Committee, and ten constituent bodies. The constituent bodies are the governing body for co-curricular clubs and societies. There are four non-school constituent bodiesand six school constituent bodies looking after more than 100 student clubs in SMU.[105] In addition to the constituent bodies, SMU Bizcom is the business development arm of the Students' Association and offers discounts, privileges and post exam parties; and SMU International Connections (ICON) is the international students’ department of the Students’ Association. These clubs aim to build ties among the members of their respective communities and promote their cultures to all SMU students through events and initiatives.

The top management of the university including the President, Deputy President, and Provost will meet with council members and discuss issues with regard to SMU student life at least once a year. The Association also played a role in creating the undergraduate tuition-fee structure at the SMU. When the university announced its first fee hike in 2005, the Association banded its members together, and drafted a proposal for the fees to be locked in for all current students. The SMU Board of Trustees accepted the Association's proposal with minor revisions, and this allowed students who were admitted in each academic year to have their fees locked in for their entire period of study, instead of having tuition fees which were subject to revision.

In addition, SMUSA is a partner with the SMU Administration on many university-level collaborations. Freshmen events such as the Freshmen Teambuilding Camp, VIVACE (CCA-Expo) and Convocation (pre-formal segments) are organised by standing committees under the SMUSA Executive Committee. Secretaries holding various portfolio also serve as liaisons with various Offices in improvement of student life and student activities. These executive functions include optimisation of various student spaces, BOSS bidding (module bidding system) and allocation of funding of SMU's various student clubs and societies.

The elections for the Executive Committee of the Association are held during the second term of each academic year, and each member holds a one-year term of office, beginning from 1 January to 31 December.

The following elaborates the various functions of each Constituent Body.

The SMU Accountancy Society was established to serve as a point of communication between the school of accountancy students, faculty and school offices.[106] Colloquially known as ASOC, the executive committee is elected annually by Accountancy undergraduates to improve student life for fellow accountancy students, overseeing several school community events such as ASOC Day and ASOC Camp.

An initiative by the Office of the Deanery of the LKCSB, BONDUE was formed in April 2004, to inculcate a sense of identity and foster cohesiveness amongst the stakeholders in the LKCSB community – the Deans, faculty, alumni, staff and students. BONDUE is one of the main drivers in the organising and planning of student activities, including student-led camps and social nights.[107]

The SMU Law Society, also known as "The Bar"], is the student representative body of the SMU School of Law.[108] The Seventh Management Committee (7th MC) of The Bar consists of eight elected student leaders. In their year-long term in office, the committee holds events for professional and academic development initiatives.

The society is a bridge between students and faculty, aiming to act in the interests and well-being of all information-systems students and to strengthen ties within the SIS community and across the university.[109]

The SMU Social Sciences Student Society was established in 2004 to serve as a point of communication between the students, faculty and school offices. Colloquially known as SOSCIETY, the executive committee is elected annually by Social Sciences undergraduates to improve student life for fellow social scientists.

ACF is the student-run constituent body that oversees the 26 arts and cultural clubs in SMU, and represents their interest to the administration and to the SMUSA Council. It oversees the development of its clubs as well as arts and culture in SMU, and plans events such as the annual SMU Arts Festival.[110]

SMUXtremists (SMUX) was established in 2000 by nine students who enjoy sharing the outdoors with others in the Singapore Management University (SMU). It currently has 1000 members, and is managed by a team of 15 committee members, and is the and largest Co-Curricular Activities (CCA) Club in SMU.[citation needed]

SMUXtremists consists of teams for Biking, Diving, Kayaking, Trekking, Skating and the XSeed team. It has organised land-based and sea-based activities, including mountain biking, road and leisure cycling outings, overseas trekking expeditions and diving trips, kayaking expeditions to the Southern Islands of Singapore and cable ski trips in Batam Island, as well as adventure courses for outdoor enthusiasts. One of the club’s main objectives is to promote the outdoors to the entire SMU population.

In 2006, SMUX became a constituent body (CBD) to represent and serve as the outdoor adventure arm of SMU. They have organised adding activities for the school population such as the SMUX Camp, NiteBike and SMU Adrace.[111]

SICS was formed to oversee the various CCA clubs founded for students who wish to develop their special interests – (SI) clubs. The other half of our sodality consists of community service (CS) clubs that engage in short term and long term projects. These projects include as beneficiaries disadvantaged children, non-academically inclined teenagers, the elderly and the disabled.

SICS has the mission to inculcate a sense of belonging and foster closer ties between its Special Interest and Community Service clubs, through the integration of club activities under its purview.[112]

^The University of Pennsylvania, of which the Wharton School is part, offers two economics bachelor degrees. The BSc Economics is designed as a business-focused programme and is offered by UPenn's Wharton School while the UPenn College of Arts and Sciences offers the more traditional Social Science-focused economics programme.